Young Love
by 1tskillingm3
Summary: Angered at Hurcules's humiliating defeat at the gates to the ancient lands, his wife Hebe(the goddess of youth) decides to take revenge on the hero's. Nico/Percy mostly just cute and innocent.
1. Chapter 1

"Why won't you let me shadow travel the statue back to camp half-blood?" fumed Nico.

"Because we need you Nico; you're an incredible half-blood and we need you on the quest. Besides, Reyna will be fine taking Mrs. O'leary." Said Annabeth stubbornly glancing at the Roman girl who nodded in agreement.

"No, I am not one of the seven… trying to change that… it's just asking for one us to get killed." Muttered Nico raking agitated fingers through his hair and firmly _not_ looking at Annabeth. He was slipping, he needed to get away from Percy before he ruined the tentative friendship that they had. Percy could easily remain clueless forever(hell he'd already missed all the signs so far) but Annabeth was a smart girl, there was no way she would miss his non-platonic feelings for her boyfriend if he stuck around which is precisely why he needed to leave… like _now._

"Nico, shadow travelling across such a large distance carrying such an incredibly heavy and powerful object could kill you. Even if you stopped to take rests you'll be in no shape to fight once you get to half-blood hill and you _know_ Gaea probably has a back up plan just incase we do exactly this." Said Hazel laying a hand on his shoulder while Nico quietly cursed the fact he couldn't lie his way out of that one. His sister was after all a child of Pluto and knew the dangers of calling on their father's power just as much as he did.

"Very well, it is decided; I will take the hell-hound." Said Reyna firmly her fingers closing around the whistle Annabeth handed her, "Please inform Jason and Percy that they had better report back to camp Jupiter alive or I will be extremely displeased."

"Oh I'll make sure of it." Laughed Annabeth. Nico didn't wait around to watch the Roman girl leave but instead headed up the stairs towards the deck. He was contemplating going up to the crows nest to sit and sulk when he crashed into an out of breath and worried Leo.

"Sorry man, have you seen Annabeth or Percy or Jason?" asked Leo quickly.

"Annabeth is down below. No idea where Percy and Jason are." Said Nico shortly, "Is something wrong?"

"Not sure," said Leo grimacing, "But there is a god on board so probably."

* * *

Percy had been leaning against the railing when he'd felt it; a slight tingling at the edges of his senses… a sort of energy change in the air. Having dealt with gods since he was 12 it didn't take long for him to realize that there was one near by. Narrowing his eyes and glancing around he saw that Jason and Piper, who had quietly talking to one another by the stern, had also noticed the change and were now gripping their weapons and looking around warily. Percy's own hands reached into his pockets and curled around his ballpoint pen.

"Be at ease Demi-gods. I am not planning on harming you." Giggled a voice near the galley. Not letting his guard down for a second Percy moved closer to his companions and looked carefully at their visitor. Sitting on a barrel was a girl with strawberry blond hair who was adjusting her perfect makeup in a compact. His first thought was that it was Aphrodite come to mess with their lives again, but then he quickly dismissed the thought; the goddess of love maybe prone to be immature and silly but she was definitely a _woman_, this person, no matter how provocatively she was dressed(and she _was_) her appearance screamed jailbait.

"Who are you?" asked Jason warily.

"Me? I am Hebe, though I suppose a Roman like you won't have heard of me." Huffed Hebe before turning flirtatious eyes on Percy, "but I bet _you _have."

"Erm…" said Percy quickly racking his brains knowing it was not a good idea to offend a goddess if you could help it, "You're… Zeus's … cup bearer?"

"Correct! I am also the wife of Hercules." Said Hebe sending a dirty look at Piper, "But don't worry deary, my patron is Aphrodite I would _dream_ of harming her favorite little daughter."

"So then why are you here?" asked Jason cautiously. Percy agreed silently clutching his pen tighter; gods didn't just turn up to say hello, they usually wanted something.

"Hmm… well I said I wouldn't hurt you guys which is true, but I still want my revenge for my husband's humiliation. I can't touch Zeus's or Aphrodite's children of course so…." She said beaming and turning to Percy, "I think Gaea was right, you are the perfect choice for what she wants."

"Wha-?" Percy began his eyes narrowing but before he or the others could move she had snapped her fingers and there was flash of gold light.

"Silly hero, I told you wasn't going to hurt you. All you're battles have made you so _suspicious… _I am just going to make you a bit more _innocent_."

* * *

Nico burst through the door just in time to see Percy crumple into seemingly nothing while the strange goddess disappeared in a flash just before Piper and Jason got to her.

"Percy!" he shouted panic shooting though him. Nico dropped his sword and knelt next to the pile of cloths a gut retching agony tearing through his insides. He heard Annabeth screaming behind him demanding to know what had happened but he could barely hear it… The suddenly the pile of cloths wiggled and a small head of wild black hair poked it's way out of the collar of the orange shirt. All became still on deck as everyone stared and Nico found himself trapped in the gaze of wide ocean green eyes.

"Nico!" squealed the child in delight and Nico found his arms full of what must have been a four year old tangled in Percy's adult camp half-blood cloths.

"P-percy?" stuttered Nico in numb shock pulling the boy away from himself under his armpits to get a better look at him. All around him his fellow demi-gods gasped and muttered.

"Yep, dat's me!" little Percy cheerfully grinned back staring at Nico with wide, adoring, trusting eyes.

"Shit… this is because I didn't leave right? The gods had to make sure there was only 7 hero's right?" Said Nico glowering at Annabeth who was staring at the child in Nico's arms opening and closing her mouth in shock.

"Erm… well, this certainly changes things." Commented Jason hesitantly.

"We'll certainly have to re-strategies things." Agreed Frank who already was now sizing Nico up with Roman calculation making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Hate to be the one to say it but, er, Percy makes a _really_ cute little kid." Said Leo hesitantly ruffling Percy's hair, biting his lip when Percy beamed up at him.

"Whatever, Annabeth you take him." Said Nico trying to hand the kid to her; she was Percy's girlfriend after all.

"Wha- oh no," said Annabeth looking like he had just asked her to take a nap in a bed of spiders, "I am really bad with small children."

"Well _somebody_ take him. Call me if you need me, I am going to the crows nest to think." Grumbled Nico secretly thinking of how he could shadow travel to the underworld first chance he got.

"Nooooo!" screamed Percy throwing himself back on Nico and practically strangling him with his small arms, "Don't go!"

"I am not leaving." Said Nico guiltily wondering if Percy was somehow reading his thoughts in his new small form… gods that would be awful.

"Liar!" said Percy starting to sob and clutching him tighter, "You're always always _always_ leaving me!"

Crap, now he really did feel guilty.

"I won't leave, I promise." Said Nico hesitantly brushing his fingers through Percy's short black hair in an way he hoped was comforting, "Until we get you back to normal I promise I'll stay."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"So what now?" demanded Nico when Percy had finally fallen asleep some hours later curled up on his chest. It had taken the small child an age and half to go to sleep and now that he was Nico was terrified of waking him up again. Even though Nico had promised the child over and over that he wouldn't leave Percy refused to be held by anyone else and so instead Nico had gotten some first hand experience about how difficult it is taking care of a demi-god child. Now all of them minus Frank and Hazel, who were on guard duty, held a whispered meeting in the control room.

"We continue on," said Jason with a sigh, "the deadline is too close for us to make a detour quest to fix Percy. We'll just have to manage without him."

"Isn't this the part where we find a kind goddess who is willing to watch and guard him while we fight the war? This fight is going to be a lot more difficult if one of us is always on babysitting duty." Said Leo scratching his head.

"By one of us, you mean me." Said Nico dryly.

"Definitely not an option; you're a child of the Big Three, we're going to need you out there fighting. Even if we can't find anyone else to guard him, he is sure to warm up to the rest of us eventually so other people will be able to look after him." Said Annabeth stubbornly. Nico had to repress a smirk at that. Sometime over the past few hours Annabeth had decided that although she wasn't too great with kids she wanted to take care of cute little Percy too. Much to Nico's amusement Percy had run crying from her telling Nico the scary blond girl called him mean names like 'seaweed-brain'. It was extremely gratifying that for once Percy chose him over Annabeth.

"No. Percy can't be near the battle; he's too vulnerable even when we're not fighting monsters, this whole ship is waiting deathtrap for a four-year-old. We have to find somewhere safe where he can stay." Said Nico firmly.

"Well hey, when I built the ship I wasn't exactly thinking we'd be inviting itty-bitty kids on board for field trips." Said Leo defensively.

"It's fine Leo, we know that, but Nico is right. Percy is not safe here with us when he'd like this, and I for one would not be able to stand the thought of being responsible for the death of a child this small, particularly when it's my friend." Said Jason sighing.

"What if-" began Piper hesitantly, "What if we were able to break whatever spell Percy is under on the way though? It's be better to have him on the quest with his abilities after all."

"How the hell would we do that?" demanded Nico secretly against any plan to put even an ounce of danger upon Percy, the rest of the world be damned.

"Well…" said Piper slowly, continuing when Jason gave her an encouraging nod, "Hebe is the goddess of youth right? So we just need to find the god of age-"

"Of course! Gera's the god of age! He is one of the children of Night! Percy and I saw him in Tartarus… And he was on one of the lifts going to join Gaea's army! He'll be there!" said Annabeth excitedly.

"So what? We take a four year old into the middle of battle so we can convince an unstable enemy god to cast a spell on him? Yeah that sounds like a fantastic plan." Said Nico rolling his eyes, "And who's to say he wont just turn Percy into an old geezer instead?"

"I admit that it's a dangerous plan, but right now it's the only one we really have." Said Annabeth giving him an annoyed look. The others shifted uncomfortably as the tension seemed to snap and crackle between the two demigods, "I am his girlfriend. Believe me, if anyone wants to keep Percy safe it's me. However, I really think that the only real way to do that is this plan."

"I disagree." Hissed Nico his grip tightening on Percy, "That plan will only get Percy hurt. If I leave now I can shadow travel him somewhere safe… Or at least get him to the Ocean where his father can take care of him."

"No, whatever happened we need to watch Percy like a hawk. This is all part of Gaea's plan, and if we send him away we will only be playing right into her hands." Said Piper shaking her head, "You heard Hebe; Percy is apparently "the perfect choice for what she(Gaea) wants". If that's really true then Gaea won't stop at anything to get her hands on him and frankly I don't trust even the god's security system."

"That's another thing." Frowned Leo, "I am assuming crazy earth lady still wants Percy to be the Hero she sacrifices to awaken, but if Hebe was working for her then why on earth would she turn him into a kid? Or are snot nosed brats the new 'in' hero and I am just behind the times?"

"No…" said Nico cold panic suddenly spreading through him, "…I am so _stupid_ why didn't I see it before?!"

"Nico what is it?" asked Jason with concern.

"We have to guard Percy." Muttered Nico his eyes darting about, his every instinct screaming at him to take Percy and run for it even though he knew that wouldn't do anything for him when Gaea really did arise.

"That was the plan." Said Annabeth testily glowering at him with confusion.

"No you don't understand," said Nico urgently, willing Annabeth with all her knowledge of ancient rites to understand, "Not only is Percy a significant hero in this age, but thanks to Hebe he is now a _innocent_."

"Oh gods…" said Annabeth catching on and looking horrified.

"Hello, son of Hephaestus still out of the loop here." Complained Leo.

"There are different types of sacrifices that can be made each type holds a different sort of power when used. In order to raise Gaea they will need a particularly powerful one." Said Nico gravely.

"We always knew Gaea was going to go for sacrificing two of us, enemies forcibly taken to spill their blood is a quite powerful act, but it is still weak enough that it would require two of us. It also seemed like for a while that she wanted to get to lovers to sacrifice which is an even more powerful rite. But now…" Annabeth trailed off looking distressed.

"Now it looks like she is going to try for the most powerful sacrifice of all; the destruction of pure innocence. Killing a defenseless child is one of the most evil acts that someone can commit and would cause enough of an upset in the balance of the world that Gaea could not only awake, but she could also take her own physical form which has never been possible before. After Hebe's intervention Percy now fulfills all three of the requirements for the most powerful sacrifices that can be made. Gaea won't even need to get her hands on a second demigod; if she gets her hands on Percy then it's over." Whispered Nico grimly


	3. Chapter 3

**Short Chap. Have a plan but I am trying to get re-inspired**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_ Nico dreamed he was sitting in a Greek café watching monsters stuff their faces with food. Not a pleasant sight under the best of circumstances. Especially not when he was pretty sure that what they were eating was people-food(and by that he was not referring to the type could didn't feed your dogs). _

_ "So unsightly!" growled a deep voice from behind him. Nico jumped and whirled around to see the largest giant he'd seen so far. Of course, the only giant's he'd encountered so far were the twins who had imprisoned him in a jar and a brief sight of the giant that had been guarding the Doors of Death before Hazel had taken care of him, both of which he had been told were on the small side for giants. _

_ "Sir!" called a gangly looking monster hobbling in, "The goddess has acted just as mother Gaea predicted! The child is now headed towards us on the ship."_

_ "Good, good." laughed the giant, his voice carrying a quality much like that of nails on a chalkboard, "We'll have our sacrifice in no time!"_

_ "But my lord, these demigods are quite powerful! They defeated the Titans and their army, are you not worried they will do the same here?" asked another monster timidly. No sooner was the question out of his mouth then he was blasted into ashes. _

_ "Of course! We are far more powerful then those blundering Titan's! And we have mother on our side! Anyone else have anymore stupid questions?" barked the giant. Silence greeted this question, "Good. Not that most of you will ever encounter _those_ particular demigods. They will have to stop on __that__ island before they can come here and there is no way they can get past those old ghosts! We have loyal servants there waiting to take the child when the others are dead."_

_ "No demigod meat?" called out a disappointed monster._

_ "Don't worry, you'll all get your fill of both Roman and Greek demigods when we invade New York after we destroy the gods." grinned the giant raising a cheer from the monsters._

_ "But m'lord, there is a son of Hades on board that ship. Won't the ghosts not be problem for him, even unruly as they are?" asked another monster uncertainly, obviously fearing he might too be incinerated._

_ "Oh so he didn't go running like a coward?" said the giant sounding surprised making Nico grit his teeth, "Ah, I should know better then to bet against mother. But no matter, we've prepared for him and a special guest is already there waiting there to stop him. They will go no further then that island."_

_ "Will the ghosts really leave the child alive?" asked another monster._

_ "They have too!" crowed the giant sounding overly pleased with himself, "That's the best part! The child-"_

"Nico…" a small hand was patting his cheek and Nico swatted it away in annoyance, he needed to know what their plans for Percy were! "Nico… wake up!"

Groaning, Nico opened his dark eyes and found a pair of deep green one's barely an inch from his face.

"Schist!" he exclaimed jerking away and nearly toppling both of them off the bed.

"You know," said Percy seriously from where he was perched on Nico's lap, "You shouldn't say that. _I_ know you're talking about rocks, but other people might be thinking that you're saying a bad word."

"You don't say…?" groaned Nico falling back on his pillows.

"Uh-huh." said Percy nodding importantly.

"So… why aren't you in your bed?" asked Nico tiredly gesturing to the small bed in the corner that Leo had whipped together last night.

"But I am awake! I don't want to be in bed." said Percy as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "So we should go play!"

"How about… no. It's the middle of the night. Go to sleep." sighed Nico throwing an arm over his face.

"But it's morning! See!" exclaimed Percy showing him his too big watch which read… 3:47 am…

"Hello no. That doesn't count as morning." growled Nico.

"Does too! it's says AM, that means morning!" insisted Percy, "So let's play!"

"So is the middle of the night! We are _not_ getting up." said Nico firmly.

"Yes!"

"No."

"YES!"

"No."

"But I am not sleeeeeeepy!" complained Percy pouting.

"Well, _I_ am sleepy." Nico countered grumpily.

"Fine, I'll just go play without you." huffed Percy making to jump off the bed.

"Oh no you don't!" said Nico suddenly wide-awake grabbing Percy around the middle with one arm and dragging him back onto the bed. Inside his mind he was thinking of all the trouble a 4 year old Percy could get up to on a war ship in the middle of a sea of monsters unsupervised, "You're going to stay right here, mister, until it's _actually_ morning."

"Nooooo!" complained Percy giggling and wiggling all over the place. Nico smirked as he realized he was completely trapped with only one of Nico's arm's extended next to him.

"Yes, and you'll go to sleep like a good boy or the Nico monster will come eat you up." Nico threatened with a small grin enjoying himself despite the hour.

"The Nico monster?" asked Percy wide eyed.

"Yup, he comes to gobble up little boys who wake him up in the middle of the night." teased Nico tickling him.

"Hahahaha nooooo! Don't eat me!" laughed Percy uncontrollably and trashing all over the place.

"Okay, but you have to go to sleep!" said Nico sternly stopping his assault though he could feel a smile tugging at his lips. Percy quieted down slightly and pouted quietly with a slight frown while Nico made himself confortable again and started to drift off.

"Nico…?" called Percy tugging on his shirt.

"Hmm?" mumbled Nico in reply cracking an eye back open to see the green eyed boy looking very worried.

"…I am scared to go to sleep." admitted Percy.

"Huh? Why?" asked Nico propping himself up on his elbow to properly look at the child.

"I had a scary dream… Where there were lots of ghosts and I couldn't find any of you… And I was calling and calling but none of you came, but then monsters came and took me away and I was really scared and I woke up." explained Percy burrowing his way into Nico's chest, "So I'd rather play with you… I don't want to know what happens next the dream."

"It was just a dream." Nico murmured soothingly stoking his fingers through Percy's untamed hair.

"I know, but it felt real!" insisted Percy speaking into Nico's shirt.

"Yeah, but that would never happen," said Nico firmly, "I am the Ghost King, remember? Scary ghosts and monsters wouldn't be able to keep me away, and I'd never just let them take you."

"Oh! That's true." said Percy looking up his eyes widening before he grinned, "Because Nico is awesome!"

"That's right." said Nico smiling tightly back.

"Can I stay over here with you though?" asked Percy nervously glancing at his bed across the room.

"Sure." said Nico letting the small boy burrow his way underneath the covers and snuggle up.

"Good night Nico!"

"Night Percy…" murmured Nico softly. He continued to swirl lazy patterns through Percy's hair until he felt the small boy's breathing even out peacefully before he let his hand fall limply down. Nico wished he could be as optimistic about Percy's dream as he pretended to be, but it aligned with his own far too much for comfort. And while it was true that he could handle himself quite well with ghost's and monsters, the giant in his dream had been quite certain that he would be defeated by whoever their 'special guest' was. He would have to discuss it with Annabeth in the morning, but for now, as he pulled Percy closer just to remind himself that no one had taken him, Nico would try and get a little more sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Spoilers for the first chapter of Blood of Olympus**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"So… let me get this straight; we know it's a trap, and we're going to head straight into it on purpose?" asked Leo scratching his head.

"Yes." said Annabeth grimly.

"Well, it does seem like our style anyway." sighed Leo dropping his arm and shaking his head, "I'll go chart our course for the island."

"Good. Now Hazel, you'll need to start laying down the mist for Jason's disguise since we don't know how long it will take us." instructed Annabeth turning to the others, "Everyone have their instructions? Piper and I will get into our servant outfits right now to accompany Jason and hopefully help the illusion that he is insignificant. Leo will hide the ship once we get close but stay near enough for back-up if we need it. Nico will be following at a distance behind you to control the ghosts if things get out of hand… and to help getting you guys out of there if things get sticky. Any questions?"

"Um, what will I be doing?" asked Frank hesitantly, which looked pretty strange since he was such a big guy compared to Annabeth.

"We need you to guard the ship and, more importantly, Percy," said Annabeth grimly, "According to Nico, Gaea has sent someone or something to collect him so you'll need to keep a very close watch."

"If we know they're going for Percy, then why are we leaving him so vulnerable in the first place?" asked Piper frowning, "Shouldn't Nico stay back incase he needs to shadow travel Percy away safely?"

Nico growled quietly, that was exactly what he had argued when he and Annabeth had discussed the plan earlier. Well, actually, Nico had argued not to go at all, but Annabeth had insisted this was the only way.

"He… should be fine." said Annabeth though everyone could hear how worried she was, "If anything goes wrong Hazel will make jewels appear and Nico can just shadow-travel back."

"I still don't like it," said Jason wincing as Hazel began weaving layers of mist over him causing the young Roman to seem to age before their eyes, "This is the Island where all those suitors came to try and force Penelope to marry them and Odysseus tricked them into thinking he was an old geezer to get inside and defeat them, right? The ghosts of these suitor surely must remember that, why on earth would they fall for the same trick twice?"

"It does seem risky," Annabeth admitted, "But if you think about it then you'll realize that the old Greek and Roman monsters and gods are stuck within never ending cycles. Penelope's suitors were used to taking things for face value and not looking deeper; that Penelope might not be a silly woman who was dithering about which suitor to marry and might actually have a strategy, that Telemachus could ever grow to be more then the compliant boy-child he was when his father departed, that the king might decide to dress in rags to come to his own palace. A flaw in judgment like that is not easily unlearned and especially not so for ghosts."

"But they will have probably been warned by Gaea about our coming." Piper pointed out frowning.

"Even so, Annabeth's right." said Frank sighing, "The Island is too heavily fortified for us to attack straight out to get what we need. If we even stand a chance we'll need to use some sort of stealth in which case Annabeth's plan is as good as any."

"Thank you Frank." said Annabeth clearly tired of having to explain her reasoning over and over.

"Maybe Hazel should try her magic on Percy." groaned Jason, who now looked like a old man now that Hazel was finished with him, "I literally feel like I've aged 60+ years…"

"It's just an illusion, it doesn't actually change anything." said Hazel quickly, though she kind of looked anxious.

"I sure hope so…" groaned Jason rubbing his back, "I am not going to be much use to you guys in a fight if I can't shift out of being an old geezer."

"You will." insisted Hazel.

"All right Annabeth, let's go get ready too." said Piper looking like she was trying very hard not to laugh at her boyfriend. With that the two girls left the room and the others started trickling off to their other duties. Except Nico that is. The son of Hades remained where he was glowering at the wall Annabeth's chiding words from their earlier conversation that morning still ringing in his ears.

_You don't have to be the one solely in charge of taking care of Percy. We are all very strong Half-bloods. You've seen Frank in a fight, he will be as safe with him as any of us._

It wasn't that he thought he was _that_ much stronger then Frank… Well okay he was a direct child of one of the Big Three, but with Frank's family gift and until Nico fully mastered his powers they were probably evenly matched at the moment. However it came down to something more then that. Like Leo had said, they knew it was a trap, but even though Annabeth had pointed out that their best chance of survival was to fall into it(which was true Nico would grudgingly admit) he couldn't help the desire to just take Percy and hide somewhere safe until the mission was done.

"Nico? Are you sad?" asked Percy peeking up at him and making Nico nearly jump out of his skin. He had forgotten that the small boy was sitting under the table playing with the toy from a happy meal Nico had snagged him. Maybe Annabeth was right; some caretaker he would be if he forgot about Percy's presence in a room.

"I am alright." sighed Nico pulling the son of Poseidon up onto his lap, "Just thinking."

"Hmm… you don't smile too much." noted Percy examining Nico with a slightly scrunched up face.

"I smile." Nico protested grimacing at getting called out on his brooding by a child.

"Sometimes. With me," agreed Percy still making his "thoughtful" faces which were quite adorable. Nico quietly thanked the gods that Percy wasn't this perceptive when he was older or Nico would be in trouble fast. To prove it, the young boy continued on his train of thought uncertainly, "But you still don't smile much. Have you… lost you're happy?"

"Lost my happy?" repeated Nico startled.

"Yes, your happy." smiled Percy with more certainty patting Nico's chest, "It comes from right here, and it makes you smile. Did yours run away?"

"I…. don't…. um…?" said Nico not really sure how to respond to that.

"I see." said Percy with his best 'grown-up' face as he put his hand on his chin and nodded to himself.

"…what's that supposed to mean?"

"We'll just have to go find your happy again!" grinned Percy slapping his fist into his palm with a 'Aha!' manner, "It can be a quest!"

"We're already on a quest." Nico informed him trying to hide the fact that he was secretly pleased that Percy was concerned about him.

"Oh… right." said Percy his face falling before scrunching up his nose, "But this quest is _not_ fun. People keep being mean to my friends and putting them in danger."

"Yeah…" agreed Nico glumly thinking about how much worse that was probably going to get before they reached Grease.

"Nico…?" said Hazel uncertainly coming back in, her eyes softening as he looked at the two of them, "The others are taking off up the mountain. You should… probably be ready to follow them."

"Right…" said Nico gruffly feeling anxiety creep up within him again. Percy seemed to sense it for he was looking at him worriedly as well. Feeling a sense of impending doom settle on him, Nico held onto Percy more tightly as he stood with him in his arms and turned to his sister, "Okay now Percy, Hazel and Frank are going to look after you for a short little bit."

"You're leaving?" exclaimed Percy looking devastated.

"Just for a little bit. I've got to keep away the mean ghosties, remember?" said Nico with a weak smile as he tried to hand the boy to Hazel.

"Noooo! I want to come too!" insisted Percy digging sharp little nails into Nico's jacket.

"You told me last night your scared of ghosts! So Hazel is going to keep you safe here." Nico reminded him as he attempted to work the small fingers lose without hurting the child.

"I can be brave! I want to go with you!" Percy insisted as tears started to stream down him face. Nico didn't know what to do, part of him wanted to do whatever it took not to see Percy cry, but another part of him wasn't willing to have Percy anywhere near _any_ kind of danger. He quickly sent his sister a 'help me!' look and she stepped in.

"Come on Percy, Nico is going to come right back. And while he's gone, you and I are going to do something special!" Hazel coaxed the crying boy.

"No! I just want Nico!" wailed Percy clinging harder and Nico was reminded of how he would have given almost anything to hear Percy say that a few weeks ago.

"Oh but if Nico is here it will ruin the surprise!" sighed Hazel tragically, "I thought it would make him so excited too…"

"A surprise to make Nico happy?" asked Percy sniffing and looking at her wide eyed.

"Yes," said Hazel seriously her eyes twinkling, "Here let me tell you what, and then you can decide."

"What is it?" asked Percy uncertainly as he allowed himself to finally be removed from Nico's arms so Hazel could whisper in his ear. Nico watched warily as whatever his sister told him made the boy's eyes light up with delight, "Yes, yes! I want to do it!"

"But Nico has to go away otherwise we won't be able to surprise him." Hazel reminded him. They all held their breath as Percy thought about this.

"You promise to come back?" said Percy worriedly, his green eyes wide and shimmering.

"Of course." Nico promised and Hazel shot him a look, both of them probably thinking the same thing. The Prophecy. But Nico also was determined not to be the person the Prophecy spoke of. He had managed to not to be in the last Great Prophecy, and he wasn't going to be this time either if he could help it!

"Okay then," said Percy smiling happily, "Go away Nico so that you can come back!"

"Okay…" said Nico feeling a tightness in his chest. He hated goodbyes, or lack of them, ever since Bianca… he couldn't help but look at Percy and Hazel- the two people he probably cared about most in this world- and wonder bleakly if this would be the last time he saw either of them.

"Nico," said Hazel seeming to read his thoughts, her eyes worried even though she was still smiling for Percy, "Be careful."

"You too." said Nico earnestly his eye flicking to Percy's before going back to hers, "Both of you stay safe, okay?"

"Okay!" agreed Percy with a grin while Hazel nodded firmly. Before he could change his mind, Nico quickly ascended the stairs up onto deck.

"Whoa there death boy!" said Leo brightly nearly toppling into him, "I was just about to get you, the others should have gotten a safe distance ahead so you should be safe to follow behind. Probably."

"Can you tell me anything with certainty?" asked Nico testily.

"Erm…" said Leo awkwardly scratching his head with a glance at the sky, "It is almost definitely going to rain later."

"Wonderful." said Nico darkly as he pushed past the Latino.

"Though you could probably do that on your own Mr. Storm cloud. Geez, I forgot how moody you can be without lil' Percy around to brighten you up." said Leo hurrying to catch up with him.

"Shut up." Nico said shooting him a glare.

"See! I know we're on a super deadly end-of-the-world quest and all, but you need to-" began Leo dramatically before a large hand fell onto his shoulder.

"Let him be, Leo." Frank chided him. The two of them were still a little awkward around each other, but over all their relationship was improving. Frank fixed Nico with a shy, but still uncomfortably calculating look, "You ready?"

"The sooner I am gone, the sooner I can be back." said Nico shortly turning his back on the two and climbing onto the railing and catching ahold of the rope waiting for him.

"Nico!" Frank called making him turn as he fixed the son of Hades with a determined look, "I'll protect them you know."

"Hey, I will too! No one is getting past me and Festus!" Leo chimed in as well.

"You'd better." said Nico giving them both a long, hard, look before sliding down the rope into the small boat floating on the dark water.


End file.
